Looking for a new PC

[The Betgirl]

Who here knows stuff about buying new PCs and such? I'm into technology and stuff, but I never got around to really learning what each part does and all that s**t. I know graphics card and sound card and what they do, but what're the best brands and s**t? It'd be nice to know before i start saving up some money.

So, discuss: What should i be looking for in a new PC, especially if I want to game on it?  

[Super Cheesio]

I'm also in your situation, except I want a cheap laptop that plays new video games decently.  

[Darkweaver66]

if you want something that will run all your games, buy a Desktop, not a laptop

or buy an expensive laptop (try to get one discounted though)

i would say the £400 mark tends to be good enough to run games.

or just go into PC world and ask what laptops they have that are good for games, that always works too!  

[Terara Drakon]

GET A VELOCITY D<

But yeah, here're my computer's specs. If you can match these you're good to go.

Except for the OS. Don't match that.

OS: Vista Home Premium 64-bit edition
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo @ ~2.5 GHz
Memory: ~2 GB RAM [I really wanna upgrade this to 4 though.]
Graphics card: NVidia GeForce 9800 GT [~1800 MB memory]
Sound: I don't really care for sound cards. I have no clue.

This is a computer built to support NVidia 3D vision, so it gobbles up power. The power supply that came with it couldn't handle it all, but I don't remember how much this one can. So just be wary of that. >>

Also, my setup costed maybe $600-700, without any accessories or the monitor.
Though, if you're curious, with everything, around $1500 or so would be my best guess.  

[The Betgirl]

Terara Drakon

GET A VELOCITY D<

But yeah, here're my computer's specs. If you can match these you're good to go.

Except for the OS. Don't match that.

OS: Vista Home Premium 64-bit edition
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo @ ~2.5 GHz
Memory: ~2 GB RAM [I really wanna upgrade this to 4 though.]
Graphics card: NVidia GeForce 9800 GT [~1800 MB memory]
Sound: I don't really care for sound cards. I have no clue.

This is a computer built to support NVidia 3D vision, so it gobbles up power. The power supply that came with it couldn't handle it all, but I don't remember how much this one can. So just be wary of that. >>

Also, my setup costed maybe $600-700, without any accessories or the monitor.
Though, if you're curious, with everything, around $1500 or so would be my best guess.

nomnomnom

I want to be able to run Borderlands on full. My friend is right now, and it looks so purdy ;o;  

[Super Cheesio]

fire - link

if you want something that will run all your games, buy a Desktop, not a laptop

or buy an expensive laptop (try to get one discounted though)

i would say the £400 mark tends to be good enough to run games.

or just go into PC world and ask what laptops they have that are good for games, that always works too!

Oh hey, you're British? =D British culties are quite rare. They come and go you know? Like you. I haven't seen you around for a looong time.  

[Terara Drakon]

The Betman

Terara Drakon

GET A VELOCITY D<

But yeah, here're my computer's specs. If you can match these you're good to go.

Except for the OS. Don't match that.

OS: Vista Home Premium 64-bit edition
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo @ ~2.5 GHz
Memory: ~2 GB RAM [I really wanna upgrade this to 4 though.]
Graphics card: NVidia GeForce 9800 GT [~1800 MB memory]
Sound: I don't really care for sound cards. I have no clue.

This is a computer built to support NVidia 3D vision, so it gobbles up power. The power supply that came with it couldn't handle it all, but I don't remember how much this one can. So just be wary of that. >>

Also, my setup costed maybe $600-700, without any accessories or the monitor.
Though, if you're curious, with everything, around $1500 or so would be my best guess.

nomnomnom

I want to be able to run Borderlands on full. My friend is right now, and it looks so purdy ;o;

Well, if you get anything close to what I have, you won't have a hard time doing that at all. My specs pretty much double the requirements for Borderlands. <.<  

[The Betgirl]

Terara Drakon

The Betman

Terara Drakon

GET A VELOCITY D<

But yeah, here're my computer's specs. If you can match these you're good to go.

Except for the OS. Don't match that.

OS: Vista Home Premium 64-bit edition
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo @ ~2.5 GHz
Memory: ~2 GB RAM [I really wanna upgrade this to 4 though.]
Graphics card: NVidia GeForce 9800 GT [~1800 MB memory]
Sound: I don't really care for sound cards. I have no clue.

This is a computer built to support NVidia 3D vision, so it gobbles up power. The power supply that came with it couldn't handle it all, but I don't remember how much this one can. So just be wary of that. >>

Also, my setup costed maybe $600-700, without any accessories or the monitor.
Though, if you're curious, with everything, around $1500 or so would be my best guess.

nomnomnom

I want to be able to run Borderlands on full. My friend is right now, and it looks so purdy ;o;

Well, if you get anything close to what I have, you won't have a hard time doing that at all. My specs pretty much double the requirements for Borderlands. <.<

My computer hardly runs it, which makes me sad. I'm on my second run now, though.  

[Terara Drakon]

The Betman

Terara Drakon

The Betman

Terara Drakon

GET A VELOCITY D<

But yeah, here're my computer's specs. If you can match these you're good to go.

Except for the OS. Don't match that.

OS: Vista Home Premium 64-bit edition
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo @ ~2.5 GHz
Memory: ~2 GB RAM [I really wanna upgrade this to 4 though.]
Graphics card: NVidia GeForce 9800 GT [~1800 MB memory]
Sound: I don't really care for sound cards. I have no clue.

This is a computer built to support NVidia 3D vision, so it gobbles up power. The power supply that came with it couldn't handle it all, but I don't remember how much this one can. So just be wary of that. >>

Also, my setup costed maybe $600-700, without any accessories or the monitor.
Though, if you're curious, with everything, around $1500 or so would be my best guess.

nomnomnom

I want to be able to run Borderlands on full. My friend is right now, and it looks so purdy ;o;

Well, if you get anything close to what I have, you won't have a hard time doing that at all. My specs pretty much double the requirements for Borderlands. <.<

My computer hardly runs it, which makes me sad. I'm on my second run now, though.

Well don't get too good at the game. I don't wanna look too noobish when playing with you.  

[Super Cheesio]

My computer keeps crashing when I play Spore. I'm guessing this is because of the CPU? Is there any way to upgrade it?  

[The Betgirl]

Terara Drakon

The Betman

Terara Drakon

The Betman

Terara Drakon

GET A VELOCITY D<

But yeah, here're my computer's specs. If you can match these you're good to go.

Except for the OS. Don't match that.

OS: Vista Home Premium 64-bit edition
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo @ ~2.5 GHz
Memory: ~2 GB RAM [I really wanna upgrade this to 4 though.]
Graphics card: NVidia GeForce 9800 GT [~1800 MB memory]
Sound: I don't really care for sound cards. I have no clue.

This is a computer built to support NVidia 3D vision, so it gobbles up power. The power supply that came with it couldn't handle it all, but I don't remember how much this one can. So just be wary of that. >>

Also, my setup costed maybe $600-700, without any accessories or the monitor.
Though, if you're curious, with everything, around $1500 or so would be my best guess.

nomnomnom

I want to be able to run Borderlands on full. My friend is right now, and it looks so purdy ;o;

Well, if you get anything close to what I have, you won't have a hard time doing that at all. My specs pretty much double the requirements for Borderlands. <.<

My computer hardly runs it, which makes me sad. I'm on my second run now, though.

Well don't get too good at the game. I don't wanna look too noobish when playing with you.

I'm already level 39. xD I destroy that game. I love it. And my FPS is horrible. I'll love it when i'm able to play it really well.  

[Trenn Flashkill]

How far are you willing to go? A gaming rig by definition is simply a computer designed for gaming. It doesn't denote a price range. I could probably put together a solid gaming machine for $1000 and another for $4000.

What components/brands are best are all depending upon your budget. I wanna help youuuuu!  

[The Betgirl]

Trenn Flashkill

How far are you willing to go? A gaming rig by definition is simply a computer designed for gaming. It doesn't denote a price range. I could probably put together a solid gaming machine for $1000 and another for $4000.

What components/brands are best are all depending upon your budget. I wanna help youuuuu!

Lol. My friend is looking at stuff for me, and he is a huge tech geek. So he put me something together for an estimated price of 1100ish. He was all for trying to get me a solid Slate Disk? I dunno  

[[Kegan]]

Solid slate? xd redface

Don't bother with solid state drives right now. They're getting exponentially cheaper and bigger, so you can only benefit from waiting.

Oh, and the cells wear down faster than normal RAM(volatile memory), if I remember correctly.  

[Trenn Flashkill]

The Betman

Trenn Flashkill

How far are you willing to go? A gaming rig by definition is simply a computer designed for gaming. It doesn't denote a price range. I could probably put together a solid gaming machine for $1000 and another for $4000.

What components/brands are best are all depending upon your budget. I wanna help youuuuu!

Lol. My friend is looking at stuff for me, and he is a huge tech geek. So he put me something together for an estimated price of 1100ish. He was all for trying to get me a solid Slate Disk? I dunno

You could definitely squeeze a solid state drive into a budget machine. As a matter of fact it's probably the biggest upgrade you'll notice. SSDs are MUUUUUCH faster than standard hard disks. Remember, for the most part your computer is only as fast as the slowest component which has been the hard drive. SSDs will help alleviate that problem.

That being said, Kegan is still right. The cons outweigh the pros. SSDs are in its infancy. They're expensive, small capacity, have a short lifespan and are constantly evolving. Buy one now, and you'll be burned. You can always get an SSD when the tech is solid. Plus the benefit SSDs bring doesn't apply to gaming as much. It's a substantial overall upgrade, but if you're just concerned about gaming, SSDs are a HUGE waste of money. You'd be better off going SLI/Crossfire (DON'T!!! btw).

Unless you have money to burn. Then by all means.